I HEART You! (so I have a little give-away)

Good afternoon to you!  It was a wet, warm mess out there this morning, but at least here in the south we are not having to shovel it! Great beautiful blue skies this afternoon, though.

Call me crazy, but I love a good play on words, and when I read Astrid  was hosting "Love is in the Air" at A Vintage Journey, I just could not help but be inspired to make something that hangs in the air!  Here is my take on a Valentine heart. Be sure to pay the Curiosity Crew a visit at A Vintage Journey to see the most amazing artwork!  You will be so happy you did!

Please excuse my photography--I took all these in the natural afternoon light.  At least it turned out to be a pretty day, but the shadows are horrifying!

I am still being inspired by Tim Holtz' January 12 Tags of 2015 and used one of his techniques that made his January tag so special to me--the splatters!  Unfortunately, I'm still using a basting brush for this, and as a result have had to do a thorough cleaning of the Closet!

I digress...let me tell you how I made my 3 dimensional Valentine.  I started with a new paper mache' heart and gave it a nice coat of gesso.  Next, I used Tim's Distress Paints smeared all over in random Valentine-y colors using my fingers--taking me back to my finger painting days (just last week).  I tend to paint with my hands much more than anything else, and as a result, my hands are not the prettiest. Before the paint had a chance to dry, I spritzed with water and allowed and coaxed the colors to blend. Once dry, I stamped Tim's Script from Urban Grunge with Archival ink, using just the stamp-no block- so I could get a random look. I splattered on Picket Fence Distress Paint using my basting brush and used a silver Krylon paint marker with Tim's marker spritzer to make tiny droplets.  Finally I gave it a good coat of Rock Candy Distress Paint and allowed to dry overnight. When dry, I rubbed some Vintage Photo into the cracks randomly and wiped off the excess.

The Picket Fence splatters and silver Krylon spritzes show up in this photo.  So does the shadow! And a tiny knot peeking around the corner. 

A little bit of the crackle.

This is actually the back--I forgot to take a shot of the front before embellishing, but pretty much more of the same.

While drying, I worked on my embellishments.    I embossed a scrap of silver metallic paper with Tim's Valentine Texture Fade, cut out the word Love, and covered it with Black Soot Distress Paint.  I wiped most off and left just enough to highlight the letters.

I had a few more Christmas leftovers--Tim's foliage die cuts--laying on the work top, so I gave them a coat of Brushed Pewter DP and a swipe of Black Soot DP.

If you look closely and use your imagination you can see a hint of the Blue Violet on the 3 flowers.  It's truly only one of those things that appears to the human eye--not the camera! 

I used Distress Stains to color Tim's floral trimmings, heat set, added some pearls colored with alcohol inks and the most sparkly Blue Violet Crystal Glitter- a new unopened jar!- that somehow made it to the top of my drawer full of glitters and embossing powders.  Love it! Either I have no memory of buying this or there is a craft fairy that visits my Closet! It must be the trance I go into when I shop in a craft store!

I had some vintage black seam binding which I upgraded to the richest shimmery, silvery black with the help of Brushed Pewter Distress stain. (Again, I'll have to leave it up to your imagination--not coming across with the camera!)  I crumpled it up in a ball and left it overnight.  I wish you could feel it.  It is perfectly crackly and tactile!

Pamellia is the lovely hostess at Frilly and Funkie's challenge "Be My Valen-Twine". I wanted to include a little silver cord so I could join the fun at this amazingly inspiring challenge.  Be sure to hop over there if you want to be inspired this Valentine's Day. As the name  implies, you will be amazed with both soft and feminine and funky and grungy artwork by a very talented Design Team.

I assembled all my embellishments onto my heart, added a little bit of Multi-Matte Medium and sterling silver micro beads dripping down. Now love is in the air!

 I hope you enjoy my little project! I appreciate all kinds of feedback and have been especially grateful for all your supportive comments on my postings.  In case you missed my update on my last post, I am offering a little Valentine package to all you lovely people who leave me some love (one randomly picked winner).  Feel free to peek back for all the details, but wear sunglasses! Hugs!

Sara Emily

I would like to enter this into the following inspiring challenges:

A Vintage Journey "Love is in the Air"

Frilly and Funkie "Be My Valen-Twine"

Mixed Media Monthly Challenge "Think Pink" Pink painted heart background, Pink stained flower trimming.

Finnabair "Sparkle and Shine" OK, so thanks to Georgie, I'm hooked!  A new Finn fan!  I hope I'm sparkly enough!

Our Creative Corner "Tic Tac Toe- Let's Have Some Fun" Wow!  I almost got a full Bingo card!  But my completed line is Metal, Stamps and Mediums (Crackle Paint).  Fun challenge...run there as fast as you can and join the fun!

Paper Artsy Topic 2 "Shiny Stuff" I was inspired by the metal heart because I love the look of grungy old metal.

The Artistic Stamper February's Creative Challenge "Love"

Country View Challenges "Drips and Drops" My drops are represented by the splats of the Picket Fence splatters and the tiny droplets of silver Krylon paint pen.

Rhedd's Creative Spirit February Challenge Altered Art/ Mixed Media Only